The defense is expected to open its case when the trial of an Aurora man charged with fatal child abuse reconvenes.

The trial of Aaron Thompson will resume Tuesday. Thompson is charged with 60 criminal counts in the disappearance of his daughter, Aarone. It's not known if he will take the stand.

Thompson reported Aarone missing in 2005, when she would have been 6. Investigators believe she died two years earlier.

Children who lived in the house with Thompson and his girlfriend, Shely Lowe, have testified that the two frequently beat them. Some have testified that they last saw Aarone after she was disciplined.

Thompson's attorneys have blamed Lowe for Aarone's death. Lowe died of heart failure in 2006.